In Great Britain, there’s no shortage of positive news from the world of cycling right now. On Sunday, the nation watched as Tom Pidcock raced to the world title in mountain biking, before the focus shifted to the Vuelta a España, where a British rider was also among the leaders. Oscar Onley didn’t win, but he spoke ambitiously after finishing second in Stage 9.

Onley had a tough first week in the Tour of Spain. He got off to a bad start in the opening time trial in Monaco and didn’t really find his rhythm in the days that followed. The Brit never did particularly poorly, but after 8 stages he was already more than 2 minutes behind Enric Mas. Tadej Pogacar was another 4 minutes ahead of him.

After the Slovenian rider from UAE Emirates-XRG dropped out in Stage 8, a new Vuelta began on the ninth stage. The battle for the red jersey was wide open again, but the mountain stage also immediately demonstrated what racing is like without anyone standing out from the pack. It was more of a stop-and-go affair, more tactical, and ultimately full throttle in the final stretch.

After a flurry of attacks by Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) and sporadic surges by Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) and Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek), Mas really put the pedal to the metal. The new red jersey wearer quickly left everyone far behind, except for Onley. He was able to keep up, even took the lead briefly, and finished in the same time. However, he didn’t win the stage.

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Oscar Onley feels his legs coming back at the Vuelta a España

Onley rode the final stretch of the closing climb in Stage 9 purely on Mas’s wheel, which was partly a luxury and partly not. “I rode with him for a bit, but Enric was simply stronger. I was on his wheel, partly because I knew it was up to him to gain time on Gall and Roglic. It was up to him to take the initiative,” he said in the flash interview.

“I would have liked to win, but I didn’t have the legs left to make it over the top,” Onley, wearing the white youth jersey, added. He didn’t seem to mind all that much, though, as the Brit looked above all relieved to be back among the leaders on Day 9. “I feel like I’m back to the level I was at before the race. It was great to ride at the front again; I felt good today.”

Although everyone saw the impact of a race without Pogacar, Onley denied that much has really changed for him now that the Slovenian is no longer in the race. “I was already thinking about the podium before the race, so nothing has changed in that regard. I’ll just keep doing what I do,” concluded the fourth-place finisher in the 2025 Tour de France. Will a podium finish—and perhaps even the red jersey—follow in the Vuelta?